Air Trans Africa
Air Trans Africa was formed by Jack Malloch in 1964 after his first company, Rhodesian Air Services failed in 1962. It operated a Super Constellation, a Douglas C-54 and a DH114 Heron aircraft. The airline's financial crises were compounded when the government of Southern Rhodesia, under Ian Smith, unilaterally declared independence on November 11, 1965.
It was a charter airline flying cargo and/or passengers to many different destinations throughout Europe and Africa. The company :
- Carried mercenaries to the Congo in 1964 to help the government of Moise Tshombe quell the insurgency of a group of Congolese rebels called the Simba.
- Acted as a charter carrier to the Biafran Civil War in Nigeria. During the civil war the C-54 was impounded and the crew imprisoned for a time in 1967.
- Operated a Lockheed Super Constellation under the name of Afro Continental Airways after UDI for a weekly service from Salisbury to Windhoek.
- Obtained a fleet of Douglas DC-7C and DC-7CF aircraft which were registered in Gabon, when the airline became a major part of the Rhodesian sanctions-busting operations. They flew beef to Gabon, from where it was flown out by aircraft of its associate company Affretair. Essential materials for the Rhodesian security forces were brought into the country on the return flights. Affretair migrated to Zimbabwe after independence, when it replaced Air Trans Africa.
Aircraft
;Pre-UDI- Douglas DC-4/C-54: VP-YTY
- C-47: VP-YTT
- de Havilland Heron: VP-WAM
- Lockheed 1049G Super Constellation: VP-WAW -this aircraft became a clubhouse at Charles Prince Airport when it was withdrawn from use. Believed to have been broken up in the 1990s.
- Douglas DC-7C : TR-LOK
- Douglas DC-7C/F : TR-LNY, TR-LNZ, TR-LOJ, TR-LPQ
- CL -44 swing tail turbo prop 4 engines
Non IATA
Web page: www.jackmalloch.com
CL44: TR-LVO
DC-8-55F: TR-LVK and TR-LQR